16
WHYTES
SINCE 1783
,
14
Paul Henry RHA (1876-1958)
THE LAKE, 1928
oil on board
signed lower left; inscribed with title and dated and numbered [76] on Fine Art Society label
on reverse; also with partial label from another work [
A Connemara Peasant
] (possibly
presented in this frame by the artist in the past) on reverse
15 by 21in. (38.10 by 53.34cm)
Provenance:
Adam’s, 8 July 1982, lot 68;
Whence purchased by the present owner’s family
Exhibited:
‘Four Irish Artists: J.H. Craig, Paul Henry , E. L. Lawson, J. Crampton Walker’, Fine Art Society,
London, March, 1928, catalogue no. 76
Literature:
Kennedy, S.B.,
Paul Henry, Paintings Drawings Illustrations
, Yale University Press, New Haven &
London, 2007, p.225, catalogue no. 614, as
West of Ireland Landscape with Cottages 1924-5
The dark palette that characterises this painting reflects Henry’s mood in the late 1920s, a period of
domestic turmoil as his marriage to his first wife, Grace, finally deteriorated and ended in their separation.
Throughout the twenties, and notably in the later years of the decade, the artist’s mood was sombre as is
reflected in his pictures of the time.Yet, as in
The Lake
, Henry excelled in capturing the quality of the
landscape, which here is soft underfoot while the background mountain dramatically halts the eye’s
recession.The vigorous brushwork notable in the foreground is typical of his work at the time.
Dr S. B. Kennedy
October, 2013
€
80,000-
€
100,000 (£67,230-£84,030 approx.)
